Assessment of Antoni Gaudi's Design Approach on the Concept of Biophilia: Case of Casa Battlo

Abstract

With the modernism movement, the diversification of design approaches has accelerated and, many methods focused on the solution of new problems have emerged. The design approaches, which move away from natural life and aim at the mechanical purposes of the function, have increased the longing of the people living in the cities for nature. In this sense, the biophilic design emerges as a new concept and aims to transfer nature to the building design in a direct and non-artificial way. The buildings of Antoni Gaudi, who had a design understanding far beyond his age, presented the reflections of nature in his unique ways. At this point, if Gaudi's approach to nature is questioned, his place in biophilic design, one of today's concepts, is a serious research topic. To what extent does the biophilic approach, which seeks to bring the new and modern together with nature, takes place in Gaudi's designs, which embody nature in a plastic and concrete sense. To what extent does the biophilic approach, which seeks to bring the new and modern together with nature, take place in Gaudi designs, which include nature in a plastic and concrete sense? The study aims to evaluate Casa Battlo, one of the Gaudi designs, through biophilic design criteria. For this purpose, biophilic design, Antoni Gaudi and his Works examined. The biophilic design criteria obtained because of the examination were used to evaluate Casa Battlo. Gaudi's Casa Battlo shows how the conceptually new term biophilia is at the core of this building. In this sense, the study shows how the conceptual essence of biophilia works like a spirit from the past that makes the structure permanent and unforgettable.